“God, what do You want to say?” “Do you have a specific message for me this crisis?”
Tucking away my Bible and journal, I turned from my morning devotional to proceed into my day. My conversation with the Lord continued as I transitioned from my chair to my desk where work awaited. Quietly, in His unmistakable manner, God impressed three thoughts on my mind. I offer these thoughts in hopes that you, too, fellow pilgrim, find direction and encouragement.
God’s Message in the Midst of Mayhem
Look to ME
In the Midst of the Mayhem, God says, “Look to Me.” Statistics, graphs, and grim realities grab our gaze. The media—broadcasting the numbers and the needs—overwhelms us. And focus is crucial because where we look affects our lives.
Years ago, as a busy mother of three, The Lord taught me a lesson for a lifetime:
Once we lift our eyes and look at Him, we look at life differently. Our circumstances may not change, but our perspective will.
A pagan king marvels, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity was restored” (Daniel 4:34). And through the prophet Isaiah God declares, “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22NKJV).
“Glance at the problem; gaze at Christ.” Manford Gutzke
Listen to ME
In the Midst of the Mayhem, God says, “Listen to Me.” Has there ever been a time when we listened more? No, I don’t think so. The noise smothers us as opinions pound the airwaves. We listen to the headlines, check the bulletins, hear the hurt, and feel the heartache. While monitoring the predictions, we pay attention like never before.
Yet, above all other voices, God wants His children to listen to Him. Within the heavy and heart wrenching world we now call home, He speaks.
“… the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice” (I Kings 19:11-12).
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
In the midst of the cacophony, God whispers. He invites us to be still and listen.
Oh Lord, give us ears to hear!
Renew Your Love for ME
In the Midst of the Mayhem, God says, “Renew your love for Me.” Coronavirus does not alter the preeminence of the Greatest Commandment. When tempted to worship our problems and be controlled by our crisis, God invites us afresh to love and worship Him.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12: 28-30).
In our current coronavirus culture, our hearts evermore find their deepest solace and lasting satisfaction in Jesus. “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a).
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found; In Him, my righteousness, alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. -Edward Mote
Living With Eternal Intentionality®
In the midst of the mayhem, what is God saying to you?
How do you win the battle over the noise to look at Him, listen to Him, and renew your love for Him?
